The Stickman: It's About Dice Control

By Silas Twist

The stickman has several responsibilities on a craps table to insure the game runs smoothly. But his number one priority is to control the dice.

 To help him with this task he uses two pieces of equipment, the dice boat and the dice stick. The dice boat is used to hold the extra dice that are not in use. On the come-out roll the shooter is given (by the stickman) the choices of five die to pick from. The shooter takes two, while the stickman places the other three back into the dice boat, which is kept in front of him on the table.

 The dice stick, is a 36-inch long thin rod, made of rattan, and curved at the end. Rattan is an extremely bendable, lightweight, and durable wood that makes maneuvering the dice (with a little practice) quite simple.

 Keeping an eye on the dice that are in play is the main job of a stickman. From the moment the stickman gives the dice to the shooter until he brings the dice back to the center of the table, he never takes his eyes off them. The reason for this is if a shooter is going to cheat, by slipping in crooked dice, or altering the table dice, he is going to do so when the dice are in his hand.

 Casinos take their dice very seriously. Having precision, totally random, dice on the craps table is crucial for the continued profit of the casino. Next time you play craps at a casino, take a look at how the stickman controls the dice from the start to the finish of the roll.